Neithotep (fl. c. 3100 BCE)

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Neithotep (fl. c. 3100 bce)

Queen of ancient Egypt's 1st Dynasty. Name variations: Neith-hotep or Neith-hetep. Flourished around 3100 bce; probably wife of King Aha (Ahamenes); aunt of King Djer.

Neithotep, queen of ancient Egypt's 1st Dynasty and probable wife of King Aha, second ruler of that dynasty, is believed to have served as regent for her nephew, King Djer. She was buried in an enormous tomb of 21 chambers at the site of Nagada, in Upper Egypt. Her importance in the kingdom is assumed from a seal with her name placed, as a king's would be, within a socalled palace-façade design. The figure of her namesake goddess Neith, the most powerful goddess of the age, was carved above this.

Barbara S. Lesko , Department of Egyptology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island